Illinois Medical District to float $40 million bond issue

Proceeds to finance expansion of West Side campus

The Illinois Medical District plans to float a $40 million bond issue to finance an expansion of its West Side campus under a plan approved by the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) this week.

The district, which includes four hospitals and several biotechnology incubators, will use the proceeds to acquire land and buildings for office and laboratory space in the area bound by Ashland Avenue, Oakley Boulevard, the Eisenhower Expressway and the Union Pacific rail yard, according a summary of the project from the IFA.

Among the planned acquisitions is the 94,000 square-foot headquarters of the American Society for Clinical Pathology at 2100 W. Harrison St. The district will spend $14.8 million to purchase and renovate the building for biotech businesses, after the advocacy group moves its offices downtown.

The district also plans to buy a 7.5-acre parcel at 2020 W. Ogden Ave. for $12.2 million It will solicit development proposals for the site, which is now vacant, the summary said. Another $8 million will be spent to build a 35,000-square foot research facility and 8,000-square-foot greenhouse at the southeast corner of South Leavitt Street and West Lexington Avenue.

Part of the revenue to cover the bond issue will come from a lease agreement with Chicago-based Jupiter Realty Corp., which plans to build a seven-story, 170,000 square-foot office building at the southwest corner of South Leavitt Street and Roosevelt Road. The company will lease the land from the district, but own the building, scheduled to open in 2009.

The overall budget for the expansion, including privately financed investment, is expected to be $150 million to $200 million, according to the IFA.

The IMD is a special-use zoning district created by an act of the Illinois legislature in 1941.